Doctor of Philosophy

Art History and Visual Culture

York’s PhD in Art History and Visual Culture, inaugurated in 2008, offers a dynamic and flexible course of study. The program prepares its graduates for career choices in academia or the cultural sector by refining critical, scholarly and teaching skills. These objectives are achieved through a combination of formal course work, comprehensive exams, independent research (to be disseminated through a range of publication and exhibition activities), residencies, graduate assistantships, and teaching opportunities.

The doctoral program in Art History and Visual Culture at York offers an exceptional opportunity for research, teaching and professional development within a department that is unique in terms of its resources, location, faculty and areas of interest. The fields of specialization include:

Canadian and Aboriginal Art,

Curatorial and Museological Studies,

Architectural Studies, and

Modern and Contemporary Art.

In the doctoral program, each of these fields is broadly conceived and students may incorporate research on non-Western topics, minority cultural practices, and interdisciplinary issues and approaches. These four fields of study represent the significant areas of teaching and research strength within York’s Art History faculty, and provide a frame within which students can pursue diverse theoretical and practical engagements within the study of art and visual culture. The Art History and Visual Culture doctoral program is relatively small and allows graduate students to work closely with individual members of the faculty.

The PhD in Art History and Visual Culture is a four-year program of study. Program requirements include one year of full-time coursework and a dissertation. The first-year focuses on the development of research skills in all aspects of the program, including graduate seminars, one-on-one supervision and funded graduate assistantships. Students write their comprehensive exams and dissertation proposal in the second year. It is expected that the dissertation research and writing process will take an additional two years.

The objective of the program is to prepare candidates for career trajectories in art history and academia, as well as in publishing, curatorial practice, museology, and arts administration. To apply click here.